Project Manager: Careers in IT project management (BCS Guides to IT Roles)

This book is a highly accessible guide to being a project manager (PM), particularly a project manager working within an IT field. The role is set out with reference to required skills, essential competencies and responsibilities. Tools, methods and techniques for project managers are covered, including Agile approaches; risk, issue and change management processes; best practices for managing stakeholders and financial management. Career progression opportunities for project managers are also discussed. Case studies are included throughout and tips and useful resources are included at the end of every chapter Cover 1 Copyright Page 9 CONTENTS 12 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES 14 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 16 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 18 ABBREVIATIONS 19 GLOSSARY 21 PREFACE 24 HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANISED 24 1 INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT 26 WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT? 26 WHAT HAPPENS IF A PROJECT CAN’T ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVES? 30 WHAT IS IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT? 31 SUMMARY 38 2 THE ROLE OF THE IT PROJECT MANAGER 40 THE TROUBLE WITH BEING A PROJECT MANAGER 40 THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT MANAGER’S ROLE (OR, WHY THE ROLE EXISTS) 41 WHAT IS PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT? 43 WHAT MAKES A TOP PERFORMING PROJECT MANAGER? 44 WHERE DOES A PROJECT MANAGER’S AUTHORITY COME FROM? 58 ETHICS: AN UNDERPINNING SKILL 59 A PROJECT MANAGER’S RESPONSIBILITIES 63 SUMMARY 73 3 PROJECT STRUCTURES 75 COMMON TEAM STRUCTURES 75 INTERFACE AND DEPENDENCIES 81 TOOLS FOR UNDERSTANDING YOUR PROJECT TEAM AND INTERFACES 100 SUMMARY 107 4 HOW PROJECT MANAGERS WORK: TOOLS, METHODS AND TECHNIQUES 109 AGILE VS. WATERFALL 109 THE PROJECT LIFE CYCLE 116 METHODS FOR DOING THE WORK 119 BEST PRACTICE PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES 123 SOFTWARE TOOLS 146 SUMMARY 149 5 CAREER PROGRESSION AND RELATED ROLES 151 GETTING INTO PROJECT MANAGEMENT 151 MOVING ON IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT 157 MOVING UP IN IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT 182 MOVING OUT OF IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT 191 CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 194 SUMMARY 197 6 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN IT PROJECT MANAGER 199 APPENDIX 1 PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS 204 APPENDIX 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT WEBSITES 206 WEBSITES 206 LIST OF RELATED BLOGS 206 APPENDIX 3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEMPLATES 208 INDEX 212 Back Cover 218